India Sturgis 22 March 2016 6:02pm GMT There are a several key characteristics of a Scandi heroine: lumpy knitwear, unkempt hair, a brain the size of Iceland and an impenetrable social

manner. At least that is the vision presented by Nordic noir - a genre of grisly murder-solving dramas so successful it has put us on first name terms with a string of leading ladies: Sarah

(The Killing), Saga (The Bridge) and Brigitte (Borgen). But when Louise Peterhoff – the latest of this archetype, soon to be soaring to UK fame with her role in the Swedish political

thriller Blue Eyes - opens the door of her flat in Stockholm, she appears with precisely none of the above traits. Barefoot and smiling, Peterhoff is a picture of social ease, balancing her

of the most exciting international series of 2015 by The New York Times, and this week comes to British screens via More4 and Walter Presents, a Netflix-style on-demand service for foreign

language dramas.  But alongside the praise, Blue Eyes has also met with fierce criticism. After the first few episodes, almost 100 people complained it portrayed Sweden’s political parties

unfairly and some of the actors have been victims of online hate. The plot follows the run-up to a national election when the chief of staff at the Justice Department disappears and Hammar

is inserted as her hard-working replacement. Meanwhile an extreme right-wing party is on the ascendant. As well as a high body count and extraordinarily graphic violence, political

subterfuge abounds. Like her character, Peterhoff is not rocked by rough seas and she welcomes all the criticism. “It says we are making a good, complex image of the parties. It would be

horrible if it was black and white,” she says. She is equally grateful for the opportunity to play a dynamic female role in an industry “dominated by male leads”. "I have been a proud

workaholic until now. I am trying to see that there are other really important things in life.” Louise Peterhoff “When I was first reading the script I thought, 'wow, she is so driven

and is not someone’s girlfriend. She has her own agenda. Like Saga, Elin also has a strong feeling for what is right and wrong. And a sense of loyalty.” Is it not a problem, I wonder, that

Nordic leading ladies are simply being typecast in a new mould, that of the awkward problem-solver? “No, I don’t think so,” is her considered response. “This is what is being commercially

sought. It is what people what to watch. Lisbeth Salander [from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo] and all these characters are really interesting women. You get offered these parts, and you

except them, then you try to create more space for them.” Apart from the odd spurt on stage (Harold Pinter’s Betrayal and The Umbrellas in Cherbourg, both at Stockholm City Theatre) and in

film (Call Girl, Gentleman), this is Peterhoff’s first major international role, although you may also recognise her from series three of The Bridge where she played obsessive stalker Annika

Melander. As such, she is still acclimatising to recognition. Recently she and her husband Alex Mørk-Eidem, a theatre director, were in a restaurant when five people approached him to ask

about her while she was in the bathroom.  “It’s funny, in smaller cities in Sweden I feel it much more. People are talking, whispering and pointing. Some people come up to talk to me, but

the ones who do are luckily really nice,” she says. “Now I’d really love to work in the UK. I think I would like London.” Peterhoff didn’t set out to act. She began life as a ballet dancer

at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, where she trained for 10 years, propelled by a mother who recognised her talent. There followed a stint as a freelance dancer, touring Europe with

NeedCompany, a group based in Brussels. She describes herself as “rebellious,” always questioning her teachers and wanting to try new ways of performing. Her dance troupe labelled her the

“Swedish feminist”. She laughs at the memory.  After her mind and body grew weary of the rigor of classical ballet she returned to Sweden to try acting and singing. There followed a steady

stream of theatre and TV appearances until she hit the jackpot with Blue Eyes, which aired in Sweden two years ago. Now she’s semi-enjoying taking time out to look after her newborn

daughter. “I have been a kind of proud workaholic until now,” she says. “I am trying to see that there are other really important things in life.” She lives with Vera, her nine-year-old

daughter from a previous relationship, and Alfred, 10, Alex’s son by a former partner, in a happy set-up where all are in touch with their exes, who live close by. A tattoo of a hammer

stretches up her forearm, unusual for an ex-ballerina or anyone as slight as Peterhoff. “I did it after the separation from Vera’s father,” she says. “That was the most painful thing I have

ever been through. The hammer is to tear down assumptions, to stay open. But it can also build things up.” It is also the Swedish word for the last name of her character in Blue Eyes,

suggesting they may have more in common that we think.   _Blue Eyes starts at 9pm on More4 this Friday, with catch-up on All4.com/WalterPresents_ 3 OF THE BEST NORDIC NOIR LEADING LADIES:

BIRGITTE NYBORG WHO IS SHE? Rather like a female Jed Bartlett, Birgitte Nyborg - played by Sidse Babett Knudsen - is the strong, complex, idealistic Prime Minister at the heart of political

drama Borgen. USP? Birgitte is under no illusions about being a powerful woman in a man’s world and fights for her place at the helm of Denmark’s coalition government. But her commitment to

her work leaves her marriage in tatters. No matter, by season three she had replaced the perpetually stroppy Philip with charming and very easy-on-the-eye Englishman Jeremy, played by

Alastair Mackenzie (yes, that was Archie from Monarch of the Glen). MOST LIKELY TO WEAR? A power suit designed to make her exude allure without revealing even a hint of decolletage. HIGH

POINT? When life imitated art and Denmark elected its first female Prime Minister - Helle Thorning-Schmidt - in 2011. SAGA NOREN WHO IS SHE? Played by Sofia Helin, Saga Noren is the

brilliant, devoted Swedish detective in the crime thriller The Bridge, set against the chilly backdrop of the Oresund Bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark. USP? With her always implied -

though never confirmed - Asperger’s Syndrome, Saga has no time for social niceties and a mind that works like an internet search engine, making her an outstanding detective. Her no-strings

attitude to sex was highlighted in series one when she picked up a man in a bar and immediately after bedding him began looking at corpses on her laptop. MOST LIKELY TO WEAR? Leather

trousers and a long moss green coat with the collar popped. Classic detective attire. SARAH LUND WHO IS SHE? Played by Sofie Grabol, Sarah Lund is the taciturn detective at the centre of

Danish murder mystery The Killing. USP? Lund is a driven, relentless police officer who is obsessed with her job. And how could you not be when there are a series of particularly sadistic

murders to be solved on the icy streets of Copenhagen? MOST LIKELY TO WEAR? A chunky knit. Sarah Lund’s white and black jumper became so iconic that there is now a website dedicated to

telling fans how they can buy or make a replica of the Faroese sweater. HIGH POINT? Giving the Duchess of Cornwall - a self-professed The Killing uber-fan - a Sarah Lund jumper on the set.